The time has finally come. Amazon.com’s Kindle (Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device) is finally in its second generation. And the second generation is my sign to buy. Everything that I have read indicates that Kindle 1 was an excellent device and that Kindle 2 addresses nearly every complaint lodged at the first generation. (If this could only be said of people from one generation to the next.)
I hope to post an in depth review in the future, but for now I am placing some links below that will direct you to a couple items that I think you will find helpful. And if you click through these links and end up purchasing any of them I will also find it helpful. For each purchase made through the links below I will receive a percentage of the purchase since I am an amazon.com affiliate.
So, so click and enjoy. And when you have given the Kindle a whirl, I invite you to come back and leave a message about what you think, how you use your Kindle, and maybe recommend a book or two.
Here are a couple accessories that I also recommend. The leather case in particular is very well constructed. It attaches in an unobtrusive way (unlike third-party) cases and can remain in place while reading. I have found this case to make the Kindle feel even more like a book in my hand. Click the links below to see the case and book light at Amazon.
This is the seventh post in a series summarizing the chapters of R. C. Sproul’s book, THE TRUTH OF THE CROSS.
Chapter 7 – The Suffering Servant
Isaiah 53:
Isaiah – “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
“On the cross, God’s wrath was poured out on Christ. God did strike Him, smite Him, and afflict Him—but not for any evil in Christ. He was smitten in His role as the vicarious Substitute for the people of God.”
God is Satisfied;
Isaiah – “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.”
“God the Father would look on the travail of His Son, and seeing His work on the cross, He would be satisfied. By His work as the Surety, the Mediator, the Substitute, the Redeemer, Christ would most certainly satisfy the Father’s justice.”
This is the sixth post in a series summarizing the chapters of R. C. Sproul’s book, THE TRUTH OF THE CROSS.
Chapter 6 – Made Like His Brethren
Utter vs. Total Depravity:
“Utter depravity would mean that man is as bad, as corrupt, as he possibly could be.”
“Total depravity … meant that sin—its power, its influence, its inclination—affects the whole person.
Two perspectives of goodness and badness:
External performance and the “consideration of the heart”
The Just Man:
“We have one unjust party (man) and two just parties. We have a just God and a just Mediator, Who is altogether holy. The Mediator is the One Who came to satisfy the requirements of the just God on behalf of the unjust race of man. He is the One Who makes the unjust party just. He is the only One Who could do so.”
Is Jesus death enough?
“If Jesus took all the sins I’ve ever committed on His back and took the punishment for me, that would not get me into the kingdom of God. It would be good enough to keep me out of hell, but I still would not be just. I would be innocent, if you will, but still not just in a positive sense.
Forensic Justification and Imputation:
“Not only is the sin of man imputed to Christ, but the righteousness of Christ is transferred to us, to our account.”
“… the righteousness of Christ that is transferred to us is the righteousness He achieved by living under the Law for thirty-three years without once sinning.
o “… not only did Jesus die for us, He lived for us.”
Justification by Faith Alone:
“… the only means by which the righteousness and the merit of Christ can come into our accounts and be applied to us is by faith.”
This is the fifth post in a series summarizing the chapters of R. C. Sproul’s book, THE TRUTH OF THE CROSS.
Chapter 5 – The Saving Substitute
Jesus, the Righteous Substitute
“Jesus had to submit Himself to every detail of every law God had given to the nation.”
Expiation:
“… taking away the guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonment.”
Propitiation:
“… brings about a change in God’s attitude, so that He moves from being at enmity with us to being for us. Through the process of propitiation, we are restored into fellowship and favor with Him.
Salvation:
Generally speaking “any experience of deliverance from a clear and present danger can be spoken of as a form of salvation.”
Biblically speaking “Jesus ‘delivers us form the wrath to come.’”
“Therefore, Christ’s supreme achievement on the cross is that He placated the wrath of God, which would burn against us were we not covered by the sacrifice of Christ.”
Substitutionary Atonement:
A Substitute has appeared in space and time, appointed by God Himself, to bear the weight and the burden of our transgressions, to make expiation for our guild, and to propitiate the wrath of God on our behalf. This is the gospel. Therefore, if you take away the substitutionary atonement, you empty the cross of its meaning and drain all the significance out of the passion of our Lord Himself. If you do that, you take away Chrsitianity itself.”
This is the first post in a series summarizing the chapters of R. C. Sproul’s book, THE TRUTH OF THE CROSS.
Chapter 1 – The Necessity of an Atonement
1Cor 2:2
“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Holy God and Sin as Offense: (p9)
“If people understood that there is a holy God and that sin is an offense against that holy God, they would break down the doors of our churches and ask, “What must I do to be saved?”
Justification by Death: (p10)
“The prevailing notion of justification in Western culture today is justification by death. It’s assumed that all one has to do to be received into the everlasting arms of God is to die.”
Primitive and Obscene: (p11)
“It is primitive for a blood sacrifice to be made to satisfy the justice of a transcendent and holy God …. And the cross is an obscenity …. The cross was the ugliest, most obscene thing in the history of the world.”
Augustinianism, Semi-Pelagianism, and Pelagianism: (p12)
Augustinianism – “salvation rests on God’s grace alone”
Semi-Pelagianism – “salvation rests on human cooperation with God’s grace”
Pelagianism – “salvation can be achieved without God’s grace”
Necessity?
Absolutely Unnecessary – “Jesus died as a moral example for men”
Hypothetically Necessary – “God could have redeemed us by a host of ways”
Absolutely Necessary – “If any person was ever going to be reconciled to God and redeemed”
WHERE IS THAT RESET BUTTON AGAIN?
Reformissionary has a great article about what he does when he gets into the spiritual doldrums. Wouldn't it be nice if there was just a reset button somewhere on my spiritual forehead?
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DAVID POWLISON ON PERSONAL APPLICATION Internet Monk has an interview with Dr. David Powlison where he speaks about “Reading the Bible For Personal Application”. Dr. Powlison wrote an article on this subject that will be included in the upcoming release of the ESV Study Bible.
DRISCOLL ON THE EMERGENT CHURCH
Look for the audio of "A Pastoral Perspective on the Emergent Church" on this page where Mark Driscoll explains what he sees as the four streams of movement in the church today: Emergent Church (Village), Emerging Evangelicals, House Church Evangelicals, and Emerging Reformers.
